Harvesting Alpha from Dirt: From Cornfields to Data Centers

Show from 09/01/25 Host Jeremy Schwartz travels across Indiana with Brandon Zick, CIO of Ceres Partners, as they explore farmland investments following WisdomTree’s acquisition announcement of Ceres. Brandon and Jeremy dive into the fundamentals of farmland investing, including its inflation-hedging characteristics, active property sourcing strategies, and the portfolio's strong historical returns. They also discuss the optionality in farmland from uses like solar, wind, and data centers, the role of dairy and biodiesel, and the impact of tariffs, labor dynamics, and energy policies on farm operations and profitability. Guest: Brandon Zick is responsible for managing all investments at Ceres Partners, including Ceres Farms flagship farmland fund and Ceres Food & Agriculture private equity strategies. In this role he supervises valuation analysis, acquisition/investment due diligence, portfolio and tenant management, and acquisition negotiations and execution. Prior to joining Ceres in 2010, Mr. Zick served as Vice President of Strategic Acquisitions at Morgan Stanley Investment Management where he performed due diligence, valuation analysis, deal negotiation and execution of strategic business transactions. Previously, he worked as a senior associate of investor relations at Morgan Stanley, and Brandon began his career as a finance associate at Lehman Brothers.Brandon currently serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Advisory Council and the Small Business, Agriculture & Labor sub-council. Mr. Zick is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in finance and a Japanese concentration and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. Mr. Zick grew up on a family dairy and crop farm in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Brandon Zick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-zick-394a5310 WisdomTree: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments